Hastings Philharmonic Perform Stabat Mater
STEWART RAYMENT
Easter might have arrived early this year, with Dvořak’s Stabat Mater performed at Christ Church, St Leonards on 5 April. But Bach’s Easter Oratorio saw its first outing on All Fools’ Day 1625; it is a movable feast. Not that the Stabat Mater in Dvořak’s hands has ever followed the liturgical calendar – it was first performed during the Christmas season in 1877, and its second London performance in 1884 at the Royal Albert Hall, which he conducted, was a month before Easter. That had been an important concert in establishing Dvořak’s career internationally; he was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm by which it was greeted.
Hastings Philharmonic soloists Left to right: Helen May (Soprano), Julia Piñon (contralto),Lionel Pinheiro (tenor), Robert Winslade Anderson (bass)
I don’t doubt that he would also have been well pleased with the Hastings Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra’s performance at Christ Church. They were ably aided by Helen May (soprano), Julia Portela Piñón (mezzo-soprano), Leonel Pinheiro (tenor) and Robert Winslade Anderson (bass). I would particularly commend Anderson’s Fac ut ardeat cor meum, and the soprano-tenor duet Fac, ut portem Christi mortem.
This was a potentially difficult piece for the choir, their weekly rehearsals being led by conductor Marcio da Silva on the piano, only meeting up with the orchestra and soloists close to the actual performance, but all of this was achieved.
The Stabat Mater is a Hymn to the Virgin Mary, the sorrowing mother at the Cross, most commonly attributed to Jacopone da Todi, a Franciscan friar. Despite it having been banned by the Council of Trent, Lassus, Palestrina and Vivaldi all composed versions before it was returned to favour 164 years later. Haydn, Schubert (twice), Rossini and Liszt were amongst those interpreting the work before Dvořak. There has been speculation that the deaths of his children may have given Dvořak empathy with the sorrowing mother as composition progressed between 1876 and 1877, but harrowing though that would have been, the last movement ends optimistically.
Hastings Philharmonic’s next outing will be at the same venue on 5 July, featuring Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht, a rather different set of emotions.
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